I miss my music. Work has a way of taking away my time. And this blasted sinus allergy/fungal infection that doesn't go away, ruins my voice and I don't have the desire to sing when it sounds like a croak. Is it living in the big city? It certainly has been a worse problem since I moved to Columbus, Ohio.

I do play and sing some with the hammer dulcimer. But my other instruments have mainly been collecting dust. 😞

Since yahoo decided that the Yahoo groups would be improved by deleting all my music files (the calendar function broke a couple years ago), I have moved my dulcimer music to groups.io. I tried MeWe hoping that would work for files but who wants to look for music in an unalphabetized list. Groups.io does display them first in the order they were entered but you can click to alphabetize the lists. And it has all the great functions that yahoo groups used to have. Only drawback is I can't let the group get too large (500 or more) or I have to pay. But when you start over, most of the former members don't bother to join the new group.

I have decided to put more time and effort into the music at https://groups.io/g/publicdomaindulcimer .

Will arrange music for I-pad display and arrange the music for hammer dulcimer, too. In time, I might need to move the hammer dulcimer music to a different group.

Got an I-pad pro and wanted another music program

I finally figured out things. I have three I-pads that I use.

Backed up my i-pad and restored to my i-pad pro. All my sheet music (over 1,000 pages in pdf format) in several programs all transferred just fine. My needs are a good listing of the music. Some of them have big icons. Don't like that. I want to see my list of music and as many titles as reasonable on a page. I want to be able to catagorize my music in lots of different ways. A song can be EZpiano, Christmas, and also autoharp.

Went through the music programs available now.

Bach Free - has some free music. Mostly Classical. Deleted.

Baptist Hymnal - only comes free with a few songs. Deleted. I have scanned 5 hymnals. Don't need to pay for one.

CalypsoJam - fakebook player. Looks decent but don't need. Deleted.

DDGigbook has most everything. It is great. I have piano music, hammer dulcimer music, mandolin, guitar, etc. all on it. I use it for church when I play the piano on Sundays and for hammer dulcimer club.

ForScore is great. I keep my lap dulcimer music on it.

Garage Band - fun to play instruments on ipad. Kept for granddaughter to play as game.

Go Play - uses dropbox - has composer, title, style, instrument, set lists. Keeper. Gonna try it for just hammer dulcimer music.

iGigbook - had found a free jazz gigbook that I have on it. Kept.

iSheet Music - no setlists - deleted

Music Notes Sheet Music Player will transpose. Needed to use iTunes to download. Don't like that. Deleted.

Musicroom - I deleted. The index is a bunch of boxes. Not good for lots of music.

Music Scanner is a keeper. I can get my music from Dropbox or Google drive in pdf format. It will scan the music and play it.  Index isn't good to use for playouts. But it is a great tool for playing unfamiliar music.

Newzik was OK. Imported music from Dropbox and Google. Wanted $20 for more than 30 songs. Only had playlists. Deleted it.

On Song - great for lyrics and chords. It will transpose the chords.

PianoFree - kept as game for grandkids or when I'm bored. :)

Piano Genius - no time. Looks like lessons. Deleted.

Power Music - very nice program. Good for a church. I paid $10 for it which allows me 25 pages of my music. Unlimited amount of purchased music. Monthly fee IS NOT WORTH IT. DELETED IT.!!@@##$$&&!!

Sheet Music Direct - not supported any more. Index was too big. Follows the music and plays it.

Sheet Rack Lite - needs to be updated. Don't see any gigsheets. Deleted.

Simply Piano - looks really good for piano lessons. No time. Monthly fee. Deleted.

Song Book - has some music. Can't add more?  Deleted.

Super Score - can't use my music. It plays the music. Don't like the index.

Theo Teris - pages are added lengthwise so music is continuous. Nice idea. Deleted. Don't see how to use it other than the few songs that came with it.

TomPlay - kinda neat. Uses their music. Has accompaniment to what you play. Deleted.

Tonara - magic scores. I have fun watching it follow my playing. The free music that I am capable of playing is just a Joplin rag. But when I have time to play the piano, this is fun.

UnReal Book - uses dropbox. I have hymnals in this. I tore them apart and scanned them. Made indexes. Works fine. Keeper.

V Sheet Music - no setlists - deleted

XmasMusic - has some nice Christmas music that you can listen to. Deleted.

OnSong app for I-Pad

Just found this app! If you only need lyrics with the chords, this is GREAT!!

It will TRANSPOSE!!

Will write more after I have used it more!!

PDF reader apps for I-pad

One blog I read about the music apps suggested that the pdf reader app might work well enough to view music. Obviously, you wouldn't get the metronome feature or composers. But many of the programs are free. And I don't need too many features for the fiddle music collection... So I'm looking. Went through all these. Don't think so... Need DropBox and a way to handle the music better.... if the first one was free, I'd try it.

http://appadvice.com/appguides/show/PDF-Readers-For-iPad

PDF Readers For iPad

Handle PDFs the right way

Overview

Using the iPad in business or education means needing to access your PDF files. There are many apps for the iPad that allow for PDF viewing, including Apple's own iBooks. Keep reading below to find out which PDF app is for you. Whether you need access to online storage or a viewer that can handle huge PDF documents, we have got you covered in this AppGuide.

Essential Apps

• $4.99

  GoodReader for iPad

  by Good.iWare Ltd.

  GoodReader for iPad has the best balance of features and usability of all the PDF management apps. It has great connectivity with its support for online servers including Dropbox, [I do like dropbox! - bfg] MobileMe, FTP, box.net, FilesAnywhere, Google Docs, WebDAV, and Mail Servers. It also has included support for VGA output so that you can show your documents through a projector. GoodReader is one of those apps that just keeps on improving, making it an essential app for every single iPad out there.
• $9.99

  PDF Expert - Fill forms, annotate PDFs

  by Readdle

  PDF Expert is a fantastic app for those who deal with PDF files often. The app retains a basic interface while giving the user a large variety of features. To begin getting a PDF into the app you can either use the “open in” iOS feature or you can grab files from a computer. Once the PDFs are in, PDF Expert provides many options to manipulate the PDF such as adding stamps, highlights, freeform highlights, notes and signatures. Once you're done editing, you can export the PDF as a regular PDF, flattened copy (that protects your annotations) or an annotation summary. Truth be told, this app shares a lot of functionality with other PDF apps out there, but there is no doubt that PDF Expert presents its features in a clean, intuitive matter and that makes this app one of the best in its category.

Notable Apps

• $8.99

  Air Sharing for iPad

  by Avatron Software, Inc.

  Air Sharing HD has all of the great connectivity features of GoodReader with the added benefit of a very Mac Finder-like user interface. It does not support VGA output but has its own killer feature: printing to any shared printer on your local Wi-Fi network. It was a very difficult decision not to recommend Air Sharing HD as Essential. Two areas that made up my mind were the relatively expensive price tag and difficulty connecting to FTP servers.
• Free

  Documents by Readdle

  by Readdle

  ReaddleDocs also has a friendly user interface and many connectivity choices. It has FTP and VGA but lacks printing support. However, a unique feature for ReaddleDocs is online storage through its own Readdle Storage. You are eligible for a free account with 512MB of storage for sharing files. PDF viewing is straightforward but lacks support for viewing multiple pages in landscape orientation.
• Free

  iBooks

  by Apple

  With Apple's iBooks, PDF support is front and center. When PDFs are added through iTunes, or through App file sharing, a separate book shelf is added for PDFs. The reading experience is quite enjoyable. Connectivity support is lacking and many of the features associated with the above apps are also missing, such as VGA support. However, if you are the type who likes to keep all of your reading content in one place, you will be pleased with the free iBooks.
• $5.99

  Save2PDF

  by EuroSmartz Ltd

  Save2PDF is a PDF reader with a unique capability that allows you to create new PDFs from almost any file format. The way it works is simple. Say you have a Word document in another app that has the "Open In" button. You can export the document in Save2PDF which will promptly convert the file into a PDF. You can even merge file formats such as Word and Pages documents into one. While this app doesn’t have features such as annotating, it’s great for people who want to create new PDFs on their iPad.
• $2.99

  FastPdf+

  by MobFarm srl

  Fast PDF lives up to its name with both large and small PDF files. Text renders very quickly as you scroll through large documents. It has a nice iBooks-like bookshelf for organizing your files. Files can be downloaded via url, found using the built-in browser, shared via Wi-Fi, or transferred between apps with file sharing. If speed is what you're interested in, then check out Fast PDF.
• $1.99

  iPDFs

  by PullRibbon

  iPDFs, while not the most functional app in the world, can be argued as the prettiest. If you just love those page-turning effects with your PDFs, then iPDFs may be your answer. With book-like page-turning effects and a gorgeous UI, iPDFs is the app of choice for those who are looking for simplicity. For those who are looking for more serious features, this app probably will be underwhelming. With basic note and annotation functionality missing, I recommend you think twice before purchasing this app, unless you are just looking to read PDF books with it.

Decent Apps

• $9.99

  PDF Reader Pro Edition for iPad

  by iTECH DEVELOPMENT SYSTEMS INC.

  PDF Reader Pro is a capable PDF browser with the unique feature of being able to create PDF files. You can access images in your camera roll and combine them into a PDF document that you can read or email. PDFs can be downloaded via url or built-in browser and support text reflow and enhanced text selection. PDF's also have the ability to be synced with iCloud, Google Docs, Dropbox and Sugarsync making it a more connected app than some of its competitors. The bottom line is that if you are looking for a app with a lot of syncing capabilities and don't mind an ugly interface then give this app a try.
• $5.99

  PDF Reader Pro

  by YUYAO Mobile Software, Inc.

  This universal PDF reader is really a big iPhone app. The interface and functionality is identical to its iPhone counterpart. PDF importing is limited to iTunes and download via the built-in browser. One unique feature this app provides is PDF scanning/creation using the iPhone's camera. If you want to use this feature on a first-generation iPad, you will obviously need to import images into the camera roll first.
• $1.99

  SimplyPDF

  by eNATAL LLC

  SimplyPDF forgoes typical iPad gestures like pinch to zoom and scrolling, and simply employs tap gestures. The screen is divided into zones for tap forward, backward, and show/hide controls. Once you get used to the interface, you can move around PDF files very quickly. Even though you can't pinch to zoom, you can still zoom using the Focus tool.
• $1.99

  Just PDF

  by Cross Forward Consulting, LLC

  Just PDF has some nice features such as Dropbox integration and VGA output. However, the interface when scrolling and zooming is slow and the app doesn't support protected PDF files. This will be a deal breaker for some.
• Free

  Adobe Reader

  by Adobe

  The famous Adobe Reader has now made its way over to iOS. Unfortunately, like the desktop version and unlike other apps here, it doesn’t do very much. About the most you can do is view and organize PDFs as well as their annotations. You cannot make new PDFs, annotate existing ones or really do anything interesting at all. This app is not nearly on the level it should be, but, it's free, so it may still be worth the download.

PDF Annotation

• $9.99

  iAnnotate PDF

  by Branchfire, Inc.

  iAnnotate PDF fills a great gap on the iPad, which is a full-featured app dedicated to PDF annotation. With iAnnotate you can easily highlight, underline, strike through, add hand written comments, and add text comments to PDF files. The annotations are embedded into the PDF and will show up as annotations in Preview or Acrobat. Hopefully the app will support text boxes in the near future, because right now the only typed text you can enter are comments. iAnnotate is a powerful PDF viewer and editor.
• $0.99

  SmileyDocs

  by DanielBorsukApps

  SmileyDocs is a file manager for most office documents, but it provides additional features for PDF files, including highlighting and text notes. Documents can be imported through file sharing and Dropbox. The annotation and file management features need to mature a bit. Highlights and notes disappear when zooming, and once documents have been added it is unclear how to delete them.

More Than PDFs

• $19.99

  Quickoffice Pro HD – edit office documents & view PDF files

  by Quickoffice, Inc.

  You may not think of PDF files when you think of Quickoffice, but it is a capable repository for all of your document formats. If you want to keep all of your work-related files together and you already own Quickoffice, your search for a PDF management app may be over.
• $16.99

  Documents To Go® Premium - Office Suite

  by DataViz, Inc.

  Documents To Go recently added more online connectivity with Dropbox, Box.net, iDisk, and SugarSync. Its PDF viewer supports protected PDFs, zoom and reflow. If Documents To Go is already your editor of choice, then this is a viable PDF management system. It is also a universal app so you can add all of this functionality to your iPhone as well.
• $3.99

  DOCUMENTS 2

  by Savy Soda

  Documents 2 is advertised as "The Ultimate All-In-One Mobile Office Suite." With the following list of features, they pack a pretty big punch. In addition to PDF and office file viewing, Documents 2 includes iSpreadsheet, text editor, Photo Viewer and basic editing, sound recorder, online connectivity including Google Docs and FTP. For 1.99, Documents 2 provides a lot of bang for your buck.
• $4.99

  GoDocs for Google Docs™, Google Drive™

  by Light Room

  If your workflow is built around the Google Apps and Google Docs, then you will want to check out GoDocs. All office-style documents as well as audio and video are viewable within the app. In addition to syncing and downloading your most current version, you can also access past revisions of documents. Lastly, it supports multiple Google account access.

PDF Readers For Comics

• Free

  CloudReaders pdf,cbz,cbr

  by Cloud Readers

  CloudReaders is another option for comic book fans. It supports landscape files, external display support for presenting your documents, brightness control, and tagging. Free online public domain books and comics are also accessible via the "cloud bookshelf.

forScore for Dulcimer Music, GigBook for other music

Columbus Dulcimer Club uses forScore for the music. I bought an I-pad first generation just to use for music. It works great!

Dulcimer music is individually scanned and saved to pdf. I have been doing it that way for years on publicdomaindulcimer at yahoo groups. The only thing I found is I didn't want to be turning pages if at all possible. We usually play through tunes 3-5 times and turning pages multiple times would be necessary. One page is easier. So the lyrics are really small now on the songs that I have condensed down. But usually if I sing, I don't strum, too. With a group of 20-25 dulcimer players, my strumming isn't missed.

Dulcimer music has many tunings. Most is in DAA or DAD. I have saved the music with the tuning as part of the name. And if it is 1-page or 2 pages if I have multiple copies. I will also add "capo" to the name if it uses a capo.

What the dulcimer music doesn't need is "composers". So I use the composer field for tunings. And there can be multiple composers so I also have CDC for Columbus Dulcimer Club and DAAC for the the Clintonville Beginning Dulcimer Club. The reasons why I do this are:

• When you look at the music in "All Scores" view, the composer is listed in gray right above the song title. So I can easily see if I have every song labeled.
• And I can search on "unknown composer" to bring up any songs I haven't labeled.
• I can pull up just the DAA songs, just the DAD songs, just the Columbus Dulcimer Club songs...

Most of the tunes are public domain and the composer would be "traditional". If there is a composer, I try to have the name on the actual music. I have never wanted to pull out certain music by composer's name.

I also play other instruments. Rather than try to have all the music in forScore, I am using other apps for those. I would like to have forScore running 3x. Maybe it is possible, but I don't have the time or ambition to figure it out. So I have tried out "GigBook" which I like, too.

Having tried GigBook now, I prefer forScore for dulcimer music. I can have multiple composers in forScore. GigBook only allows one composer. But I really like GigBook for my other music.

GigBook has "Collections". Scanning non-stop is easier than scanning individual songs. I have four-inch books of music that I printed on 8-1/2"x11" paper. Music I have collected for years. I scanned my most popular "book". I then went through and "Super Book Marked" each song. (Took a few hours to do it all...) I can go through the music in the original "book" and it is really easy to jump page to page. Each song is also listed individually in the All Scores". Love it!

I can then make "Binders" of music. So I have a binder of "autoharp and sing music", "children's music", "guitar and sing music", "hammer dulcimer and sing", "hymns for Sunday"....

I tried using composers as composers but decided against it. Instead of composers I put the instrument I usually use to accompany the song. So I have autoharp, guitar, hammer, jawharp, no instrumental, saw, and stumpfiddle as composers. If I play the song only on guitar, I put guitar. If I do both autoharp and guitar, I put autoharp. GigBook only allows one composer for a song. So I can't use the program the same way I used forScore.

Both programs have more things that can be done with them. Don't know if I will ever use some of them.

I haven't used either program extensively, but right now, I'm very happy with both.

Now, to look for one more app. I would like two more. One for piano music. One for fiddle music....

Been busy redoing some music for I-pad

When I arranged the music for dulcimer, I made it easy to read and often on two pages. Now that I am putting the music on the i-pad, I don't want to have to turn pages unless it is really necessary. So I've taken some of my favorite songs that I still had the Encore version and making the tab bigger and reducing them to one page.

I have done a couple of new songs. Columbus Dulcimer Club has some nice music and I grabbed onto a couple of those and rearranged them a bit and posted to publicdomaindulcimer.

"I don't understand why you like playing that when you can turn on the radio and get good music."

"I don't understand why you like playing that when you can turn on the radio and get good music."

Someone once said that to me.

How do you explain hearing to a deaf person?

Making music is more than singing or playing as well as a professional. Homemade music doesn't have to be at a professional level to be enjoyable and wonderful. We've been robbed of homemade music in this society by the music industry along with TV, radio, recordings. Many of us are AFRAID to make music because of people who make statements like the one above.

I love the dulcimer and dulcimer music because it gives music back to the less talented, the people with not enough time to devote to becoming truly proficient at music. We don't have to be good to enjoy making our own music. Simple chords and singing can be absolutely wonderful. There is so much love, expression, happiness, that comes from within when you make music. Picking out a melody, playing a simple instrument, when it is done with feeling is all that is required to make your own symphony of happiness.